Board Engagement Bootcamp Presenters
Julie Holt Julie Holt Consulting
Carol Ferguson Sr. Donor Relations and Programs Officer Orange County Community Foundation
Cathleen Otero Director of Donor Relations and Programs Orange County Community Foundation
What We’ll Cover Today
Successfully Engaging your Board in Fundraising
History of i♥oc Giving Day
What We Know so Far about i♥oc Boards What happened in 2015 Board and Staff Perspectives
Best Practices and 2016 tools for Successful Board Engagement
Panel Presentation
After April 28
i♥oc Giving Day Board Involvement in Fundraising
Secrets of Exceptional Boards “Putting AAA to Work” Julie Holt JHC Consulting February 10, 2016
Do you hate Fundraising?
Desired Outcome
That every board member will leave better understanding their role in fundraising and inspired to help.
All will admit they don’t hate fundraising.
Defining a AAA Board
Every board member is motivated to be an Ambassador, Advocate and/or Asker
AAA boards are an essential part of the culture of philanthropy that motivates the community to invest in an organization
Roles Board Members Play in Advancing Philanthropy
Ambassadors Making friends Building relationships
Advocates Making the case (formal and informal) Key to solid board recruitment
Askers Willing to ask “Front line” fund raisers
Ambassadors
A role everyone can play Identification & cultivation of prospective donors Stewardship of existing donors Well informed about the message Shares why they care
Advocates On the golf course or in the car pool – share their role on the board May advocate on a more formal basis with foundations or other
organizations Informed about the needs Well aware of the mission and vision
Askers Comfortable asking for support Well informed, well trained “Matched” with prospective donors for maximum possibility of
success Teamed with another board asker or staff leader Staff supports the board member Benefit from the work of the Ambassadors and Advocates
The AAA Rating
Some of you will do it all Most board members excel at one or two Do what you are most comfortable doing
Board member motivation operates at two levels: Deep (mission, vision, values) Immediate (affiliation with people, recognition among peers,
professional or personal growth)
More Insights
Understand Motivation
Primary job: understand our own and others’ deeper motivation and help grow it
What’s important to the donor? What are the needs? How do we match them with donor interests?
Linking Activities to Motivation
Brainstorm with board members what you can do under each AAA activity.
Have a strong sense of the most important tasks Generate a good list before attempting to enroll Which of these tasks match the organization’s needs and
individual board member interests?
Leadership is Essential
CEO & Board Chair Consistency Taking AAA seriously Linking AAA to overall institutional goals Valuing AAA as an important strategy for building
participation and impact
Some Cautions
Timing is critical. Don’t let time lag Staff and board leaders all involved. One person cannot
do it all Keep the list of tasks reasonably short.
The Board’s Role in Implementation
Carry out the tasks you signed up for Add AAA into your board member job description Everyone should participate in training for solicitations, even
those who choose not to do them. At the beginning of each board meeting showcase AAA work
Keeping AAA Ignited
Recognize those who fulfill their commitments Have a committee check and guide AAA progress and prod those
who are lagging Use AAA as the framework for annual individual meetings with
board members, the board chair and the CEO Continually refresh the AAA opportunities: Put AAA roles on the
agenda for staff meeting: new ideas will certainly emerge
Evaluating Success
With Ambassadors, focus on contacts, long term impact and reporting
With Advocates, measure effectiveness by outcomes: what action was generated by their advocacy?
With Askers, it is easy: was the ask made?
Thank You!
Board Engagement Bootcamp Presenters
Julie Holt Julie Holt Consulting
Carol Ferguson Sr. Donor Relations and Programs Officer Orange County Community Foundation
Cathleen Otero Director of Donor Relations and Programs Orange County Community Foundation
History of i♥oc Giving Day - 2015
What we Know so Far about i♥oc Boards
METRIC DATA POINT
TOTAL BOARD MEMBERS 4,714
BOARD DIVERSITY
75% Caucasian 3% African American 9% Hispanic/Latino 6% Asian American 1% Native American 6% Other ____________________________
43% Men 55% Women 2% not specified
347 Participating Nonprofits
What We Know: Board Engagement 2015
28% of nonprofits
reported that their boards were engaged or highly engaged, with 7% reporting a highly engaged board.
33% reported that their boards were neither engaged nor disengaged.
39% reported that their boards were disengaged or highly disengaged.
Please rate the level of your board's engagement for the iheartOC Giving Day.
Highly engaged
Engaged
Neutral
Disengaged
Highly disengaged
What We Know: Board Engagement 2015
58% of nonprofits reported that their boards made a donation.
31% reported that their boards emailed their networks.
17% reported that their boards participated on social media.
35% reported that their boards did not participate.
0.0%
10.0%
20.0%
30.0%
40.0%
50.0%
60.0%
70.0%
They did notparticipate
Made a donation Emailed theirnetworks
Hosted orhelped with an
event
Participated onsocial media
How did your board participate in iheartOC?
Comparison of Board & Staff Perspective
How engaged is your board/staff with each
other?
Highly Engaged Engaged Somewhat
Engaged Not Engaged
Board 23% 36% 30% 12% Staff 18% 24% 46% 12%
Very Familiar Familiar Somewhat
Familiar Not Familiar
Board 34% 25% 30% 11% Staff 4% 17% 54% 15%
How familiar is the board with
Giving Day?
Comparison of Board & Staff Perspective
Staff, what is your expectation of level of board giving?
% 100% >50% 50%-25% <25%
Staff 30% 42% 15% 14%
If we had 100% Board Giving 4.21.15
$150
100% 4,714
$707,100
Best Practices for Successful Board Engagement
Best Practices
The Board’s Role in …
Readiness & Outreach - Before
Giving & Asking - During
Thanking & Stewarding - After
Readiness & Outreach - Social Media Outreach
Readiness & Outreach - Team Effort
Readiness & Outreach - Leveraging your Network
Staff & Leadership
Existing Supporters
Volunteers
Prospective Supporters
Board Members
Giving & Asking - Setting the Example
100% Board giving … and on April 27 Set a goal of dollars and numbers of people Your network The organization’s database
The IDP – Individual Development Plan Creative engagement of your network
Thanking & Stewarding - Building Relationships
Social media shout-outs day of Board member thank you within
48 hours Quarterly engagement thereafter Utilize a variety of methods Email Phone USPS – hand written note Professional settings
Along with the "thank you" we also sent any
new donors for the day a full-color report on our
programs, and followed up several months later
with an appeal letter. Every one of
those new donors from the giving day has
donated again.
Tools Available
Bootcamps: Donor (February 17) and 8-Week Workplan (February 24)
Toolkits: Marketing Toolkit available on iheartoc.org
8-week Workplan: USE IT
Technical Assistance i♥oc Enews Email OCCF team at [email protected]
Prize Challenges
Tools: Board Prize Challenges
Challenge Description
100% Board Giving Challenge Get every member of your board to make a donation and you’ll receive an entry into a drawing to win a $1,000 grant. Must turn in board listing and confirmation of donations from iheartoc.org within one week of giving day to be eligible.
“I ♥oc Giving Day” Video Challenge
A 15 second (max) video from a donor or board member that starts with the phrase: "I heart <XYZ nonprofit> because…" and shared on your favorite social media platform with the hashtag #iheartoc.
Tools: 8 Week Workplan
Board Engagement Questions… What will be your goal for board giving (100%, increase
from last year?) What prize challenges will you and your board work on
together? What donor engagement strategies will your board
employ? What social media activity will you ask of your board? What other communication/marketing activities will
your board engage in? What other tasks or strategies will you ask your board to
participate in?
Start Thinking…
Panel Discussion
Scott Larson Executive Director, HomeAid OC
Reshma Block Board Chair, South Asian Helpline and Referral Agency Board Member and Finance Chair, OCCF
Julie Holt Julie Holt Consulting
After April 28
Congratulations, you are an i♥oc Giving Day alum
Celebrate and leverage your success!
Consistent stewardship effort
Use your Nonprofit Central profile
The Toolkit and 8-week Work Plan
Build your relationship with OCCF and your donors (old and new)